won't start turn key no clicking or turning over complete silence

450

Asked by tiler97 May 25, 2015 at 10:40 PM about the 1988 BMW 5 Series 528e Sedan RWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

battery discharged, doors auto locked. Put in battery (not new) checked good at parts
store 12.6 volts Head lights tail lights won't work most everything else does. Volt meter
on positive terminal,  showed 12.6 volts checked engine, screws in firewall, body, voltage
12.6. Is there something that keeps car from starting because of battery, maybe a reset
somewhere, Got any ideas?

21 Answers

30,090

tiler, you are going to have to check every fuse and relay you can find in the car. also, make sure your grounds are clean and tight. if you get it going, then you are going to have to do a parasitic draw test to see why the battery died like that in the first place. fairly easy procedure with a multi-meter just google it.

13 people found this helpful.
450

battery was old set for several months, will do what you suggest fuses good thanks

10 people found this helpful.
490

A battery that reads 12.6 volts is not a good, charged, battery. A fully charged battery will read at least 13.2 volts to 14.4 volts. You need to do a load test to see what the voltage drop is. That is what tells you the condition of the plates in the battery. A used battery is just exactly that. A USED BATTERY.

19 people found this helpful.
490

The solenoid controls the power going to the starter. The ignition switch controls the power to the solenoid. That is what clicks when you have a bad (low) battery. Remember the car is computer controlled.

16 people found this helpful.
450

no clicking, complete silence most everything else electrical works but try a new battery thanks

24 people found this helpful.
450

main relay, pole 30 getting battery voltage, suppose to get a minus dc voltage on pole 87, getting nothing going to try and clean all grounds, still checking. Key does not have a chip in it. Thanks for suggestions

7 people found this helpful.
30,090

Have you tried shorting across the solenoid at the starter to see if the engine turns over?

6 people found this helpful.
230

It's the key has lost signal to the ignition switch, this happened to me and I tried the other key and it work fine. Still don't know how to fix that key yet

23 people found this helpful.
220

My car won’t lock my car won’t crank and it definitely not excepting any jump my whole car is shut down I can’t get in my trunk or anything bmw 2007 530i

22 people found this helpful.
90

Same exact description. Battery good still wouldn’t start the engine. Swapped from my everyday use key, to the one I keep as spare. Engine Started right up no problem. Thank you.

9 people found this helpful.
130

my key not starting my 550i i was literally just driving stopped for like 15 minutes and now the key is not getting read in the ignition

13 people found this helpful.
300

How do you guys know it was the key at fault for the no crank no start? I’m having a similar problem. Not sure what’s at fault tho.. I saw a electric coolant pump code pop up, mass air sensor pop up. Could it be either one of those? Or is it the solenoid/starter? Relay for starter or ignition switch? Before this happened One thing to note I was low on gas driving home barely got it to crank over but it did, filled it with some 91 from taco drove it home and about 10 minutes later I couldn’t drank it over.... please help. Tried jumping it’s not the battery!!

28 people found this helpful.
150

my 525 bmw have a clic clic noize when i turn the key ,radio,work but the car wont start? why

15 people found this helpful.
130

My bmw 520d e60 yesterday decided it didn’t want to start had lights on dash but didn’t crank but after 10 mins of pushing button it started today I’ve tried starting it there are now no lights on dash and no crank key hasn’t ever locked or unlocked the car since I’ve had it always used key in door

13 people found this helpful.
140

Similar problem happened to me. Turned the car off running fine. Next day car tried to start then all power slowly dimmed out til no power. Charged my battery that's 3 yrs old and hardly used. Next day, started, ran for 15 minutes then stopped running. Turned ignition key car power was on it tried to start then power dimmed out. Oh... it's my alternator (don't have a $15 volt meter)bought a new $211 alternator. Swapped out to new alternator whole my battery was on charger. Started car everything seemed good drove around parked car. Went to start later same thing car power dims out to nothing, no power???? Pull battery charge all night battery says charged, put in car tries to start, power dims out again....!@@$$%$# put battery back on charger it immediately says charging battery. Battery is 3 years old hardly used. I bring it to o'Reilly..... they put on THERE CHARGER THEY SAY IT READS FINE... ITS CHARGED!! I say can ya warranty the battery and I'll give a shelf NEW battery a try. Keep in mind my old battery read fully charged at oreillys. I take new shelf battery home, put in car and it fires RIGHT UP!!! Maybe this was helpful, you cant necessarily trust a shops or car parts store equipment. If I did have a $15 volt meter would it have solved my problem?? Idk. I do wish I got a new battery first instead of ripping my front end apart to replace what may have been a good alternator. I am buying a voltmeter cuz it will help diagnose or maybe I would have not bought a new alternator, I could have tested that it was charging. BMW bye bye unless you like working on cars. 97 528i with 110,000 miles, what a hunk of crap! From 79 000 on I've done nothing but wirj on catbevery 3,000 miles. Good luck!

3 people found this helpful.
140

I take that back. Went to start car nothing, it was just running. Got my Toyota to see if I can jumpstart and it worked, car started right up. I am baffled any suggestions?

5 people found this helpful.
120

So I was driving my bmw 530xi 06...and my car idle then shut off it turn on once and I quickly moved it to a parking lot of the road. I replace the relay nothing.. disconnected the ibs nothing... I put in the key and I hear nothing no crank just ahummm..noise when I press the start button need help any suggestions or thoughts on this matter. Car still in the parking lot ‍♂️

12 people found this helpful.
40

2008 528xi new battery...new starter...car will still not start....

4 people found this helpful.
140

Sold my BMW. It's like a boat. First and last day you own it is the best! What a hunk of crap...... no wonder you do not see old bmws on the road. So much happier!!!! I also have way more cash!

6 people found this helpful.
30

Changed starter without disconnecting battery like an idiot so that starter wire did a little spark duh I went and disconnected it right away but obviously too late now the car won’t react at all just shows a key symbol on the dash and won’t do anything won’t click fuel pump won’t even power on radio

3 people found this helpful.

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